2015 final player reports-wrapping up the 2015 class

I was trying to wait for insanegate to cool down, but that looks like it is never going to happen, so here is my final reports on the remaining players from the 2015 draft class.

http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2015/05/wrapping-up-the-2015-draft-class.html

Nice write-up. It made me sad to read it because I really don't know if I'll be watching the NFL any longer so I'll never get to see what they become.

Do you follow a particular college team?

Nice write up. Alas, like Everlong, I'm finding it very hard to get excited by football right now. Maybe things will change in september and I'll get dragged back in but I'm currently doubtful.

manxman2601 said:

Nice write up. Alas, like Everlong, I'm finding it very hard to get excited by football right now. Maybe things will change in september and I'll get dragged back in but I'm currently doubtful.

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The comp. picks will make it interesting for me to follow. Gonna ignore the top guys. Maybe, keep an eye on some rb's whom might drop to Round 2 we could get or move up for.

patsfaninpa said:

The comp. picks will make it interesting for me to follow. Gonna ignore the top guys. Maybe, keep an eye on some rb's whom might drop to Round 2 we could get or move up for.

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I suppose next year's draft lends itself to the later round bargains I like to scout but i feel cheated, both by the NFL and the Patriots. I'm struggling to feel any love for either right now.

manxman2601 said:

I suppose next year's draft lends itself to the later round bargains I like to scout but i feel cheated, both by the NFL and the Patriots. I'm struggling to feel any love for either right now.

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When they first announced the penalty, I thought I'd just be done with that draft. But, after thinking about all of the extra picks we have. Screw it. We can still have a better draft than the damn Colts.

I have a feeling this year might be like 06. Everyone thought we would lose because of a lack of receivers. But, our defense collapsed in the AFCCG. Loss of Rodney late in the year was a big deal. But, the defense was very good that year.

Gonna make next year's free-agency much more interesting. Ya know Belichick is pissed about losing the first. He can get rid of some non-productive players and have a decent amount of cap space next off-season. Hopefully, to load up for 16 and 17. Losing that 2006 AFCCG ticked him off and we went out and got; Welker, Moss, A. Thomas and D. Stallworth. Maybe, TB12's last two years.

Being caught-up in BendOverBenedictBobGate allowed me to temporarily forget how much I hated
this draft - again - after the 1st round.

I'm a huge fan of the pats and was a huge fan of Kraft. But the man did not do nearly enough to fight for at least a reduction of the pick that was taken. Idk how I should feel. But if one thing I can take out of this whole ordeal is that BB is firing up the troops for this upcoming season. I think they're gonna be ready to prove everybody wrong and get his fifth ring, or at least I hope so lol.

everlong said:

Nice write-up. It made me sad to read it because I really don't know if I'll be watching the NFL any longer so I'll never get to see what they become.

Do you follow a particular college team?

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I am an Iowa State graduate, but let's be honest, not much NFL talent comes out of my beloved Cyclones.(although they have at least one offensive lineman coming up in the next couple of years that has NFL qualities.) I will watch any game that is on, but I found myself watching games more for the prospect matchups last year and will certainly lean that way again this year.

manxman2601 said:

Nice write up. Alas, like Everlong, I'm finding it very hard to get excited by football right now. Maybe things will change in september and I'll get dragged back in but I'm currently doubtful.

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It certainly put a dark cloud over the class and getting excited for next season. I still am not sure how they came up with the team penalty that they did and while I wish the Patriots would have fought to get the pick back or reduced, I can understand the long term consequences it could have had on Kraft and the team. Losing all your allies and leverage to fight something you probably won't win just to prove a short term point is not good business. It still hurts though and being a draft writer and not having a first round pick to write about really sucks.

midwestpatsfan said:

I was trying to wait for insanegate to cool down, but that looks like it is never going to happen, so here is my final reports on the remaining players from the 2015 draft class.

http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2015/05/wrapping-up-the-2015-draft-class.html

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Nice write up I looked at Trey Flowers a lot over the last few months. He reminds me a lot of Nickovich when he was at Purdue. If he developes anything like Nicko he will be an outstanding player. Shaq Mason was one of my watch guys for the draft. You nailed it there is no one better at pass blocking than this little stud. he may only be 6'1 on a good day but he knows how to use every ounce of that 310 pounds. You are not going to get leverage against him. A.J. Derby will be a surprise to a lot of people yes he has great hands as a former QB he understands what a QB needs from a TE the guy will take maybe a full season to develop but I can see him being as good a TE as that one the Pats drafted from Florida a few years ago.

This draft will be a challenge to evaluate. I for one have some concerns about Malcom Brown. We'll see how much he can help us in the short term. He started slowly in college and I'll be interested in whether he starts slowly in the pros. I think he should be solid, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes some time.

I think they found a solution at guard with Tre Jackson. We'll see about Flowers, Richards, Grissom, and then second tier players like Wells and Roberts.

I think shaq could be a nice asset. I see BB using him early on on special teams as a wedge player as well as in the backfield in short yardage to start. He could be really valuable in those roles.

I too see A.J. Derby as an intriguing pick. I think he has really high potential. The question becomes how they hide him for the first year. I think he's a big risk to be lost from the practice squad.

I am one of the few who love the Cardona pick. A sore spot for the team for a few years, now solved for, I hope, a decade.

The Pats, a pretty deep team, took a bunch of lottery tickets and the lottery won't be held for a couple years. I hope we have the patience for it all to mature.

mosi's man said:

This draft will be a challenge to evaluate. I for one have some concerns about Malcom Brown. We'll see how much he can help us in the short term. He started slowly in college and I'll be interested in whether he starts slowly in the pros. I think he should be solid, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes some time.

I think they found a solution at guard with Tre Jackson. We'll see about Flowers, Richards, Grissom, and then second tier players like Wells and Roberts.

I think shaq could be a nice asset. I see BB using him early on on special teams as a wedge player as well as in the backfield in short yardage to start. He could be really valuable in those roles.

I too see A.J. Derby as an intriguing pick. I think he has really high potential. The question becomes how they hide him for the first year. I think he's a big risk to be lost from the practice squad.

I am one of the few who love the Cardona pick. A sore spot for the team for a few years, now solved for, I hope, a decade.

The Pats, a pretty deep team, took a bunch of lottery tickets and the lottery won't be held for a couple years. I hope we have the patience for it all to mature.

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Totally agree about the Brown pick. He was a 3 year junior at Texas. Only 21. I love the pick. Not a lot of expectations this year. Shaq's film is fun to watch.


The Wells and Roberts picks intrigue me. Both with great measurables and a lot of experience. Wells in the SEC and Marshall has a nice program.

Ironically I think the key to this years' draft is Easley. If he turns into a force and either Grissom or Flowers adds some quality depth early on, then waiting on Brown to be an impact player will be acceptable.

I think the Pats saw this years draft as weak, and after the Brown pick really took a lot of chances. Normally they might have traded out of this year into next, but with extra picks already for next year for Revis, Browner, and Wilfork (this was prior to the Deflategate penalties, which no reasonable person could have expected) they decided to roll the dice on potential instead. That's why Cardona was a pick that I liked. He almost surely fixed a real need, something few of the other picks accomplished. Nearly everyone else was a question mark/high upside guy. I think the Pats saw nearly everyone in the draft as a question mark and so were content on taking some flyers on guys they found intriguing, especially as they were positioned as the youngest reigning Superbowl champs in history. This off-season the Pats took a very good young team (albeit with an old qb) and actually got significantly younger both in the draft and in free agency, and then drafted for potential. An interesting approach.... The post-Tom Brady era may be rapidly approaching as this team transitions to a different look.